


No Smoking

by Galaxxi



Series: ask-joeydrewstudios fics [10]
Category: Bendy and the Ink Machine
Genre: AU, Gen, ask-joeydrewstudios, look out - sammy is a massive drama queen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-29
Updated: 2018-05-29
Packaged: 2019-05-15 05:52:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,288
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14784716
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Galaxxi/pseuds/Galaxxi
Summary: Bendy thinks it'd be a good idea to steal Sammy's Cigarettes....It's not.





	No Smoking

**Author's Note:**

> I’ve had a handful of people ask over on my ask blog ‘What happens if Sammy tries not to smoke?’ and I actually first wrote this fic back in like... July/August 2017? But I was never happy with it so I never posted it. I’ve just been sitting on it c’: I’ve passively mentioned it a few times so if you’re a long-time follower of that blog you might remember it, but here it is I’ve finally finished it after it got brought up again when I asked for fic requests. It's easily the longest fic I've ever written, and it takes place in 1936 - almost two years prior to the blog's current date. Enjoy! c:

 Bendy was hiding out in the studio infirmary early one morning, waiting for the footsteps that signaled the arrival of the department’s employees. Today, he was pulling his biggest prank thus far - stealing Sammy Lawrence’s cigarettes. He’d already stolen the janitor’s keys to sneak into his office and grab them, as well as small bottle of whiskey he kept in the back of the same desk drawer for those days when he needed an extra something to take the edge off, and stashed them in a bucket in one of the studio’s many janitorial closets. He could have done this to any employee, a handful of them had smoking habits, but Sammy... Sammy was _rarely_ seen without a cigarette. He said he only smoked when he was stressed or anxious, but as it turns out he’s almost _always_ stressed or anxious. Couple that with how dramatic he can get, and the little imp decided separating him from his vice of choice could lead to some _serious_ entertainment.

  He’d been waiting around for almost a half-hour when he finally heard activity overhead. Sammy’s office was at the end of the hall, and when he heard the sound of footsteps shuffling the full length of the hallway above him he knew the show would be starting soon enough. He snuck up the stairs and peeked around the corner just in time to hear the office door unlock, and a moment later he could see the music director throwing his coat over his chair and sitting down at his desk with a cup of coffee through the office window. 

  Everything was in place. Now he just had to wait. Bendy made a dash for the stairs to make it to another floor, he didn’t want to be anywhere near the music department when Sammy realized what was happening. It would be far too suspicious.

 

  Not long after finishing off his cup of coffee, Sammy reached down to open the bottom drawer of his desk. He was still too tired to realize it was unlocked, but he wasn’t too tired to realize something was... missing. A _few_ somethings were missing, actually. Shuffling papers and notes around he found that his cigarettes were not just misplaced in the drawer, they were _gone._ There were three cartons in here yesterday, and both his office door and this drawer were always locked when he left for the night. _Someone_ had raided his desk.

  _“What the hell, this drawer is locked for a reason. Who could have--”_

He froze.

  _"...Wally's got keys for every lock in the studio. He's also a_ dead man _if he was behind this."_

He threw open his office door with such force that, if he weren’t preoccupied with his missing belongings, he’d be surprised he didn’t break the wall it so loudly slammed against. He briskly walked down the long hall, tense and with a look of murder in his eyes. Wally was whistling as he _too conveniently_ entered the music hall.

  " _Wally._ ” He began as he stopped suddenly, the other man almost running into him in his distracted state. “Were you in my desk this morning?”

  "What? Uh, no, I just got here like two minutes ago." Wally replied. He sounded very genuinely confused, and he was no actor. If he were lying, it would be as apparent as the freckles on his face. That meant the real culprit still had to be found. _Joy._

  "Why are you askin' me if I was in your desk? Is something missing? 'Cause if you think something's missing, maybe y’just misplaced it-"

   "No, things are very clearly missing, and I _know_ I didn't move them." Sammy sighed, trying to think who else would have access to his desk. He had a lot of work to do, and not nearly enough time to do it - he needed to get to the bottom of this, and he needed to get to it five minutes ago. 

  "Well, did you try Bendy yet? You know how he likes to make trouble." he nervously chuckled, not wanting to set the other man off. It was too early to be getting yelled at.

  Sammy froze again, the realization dawning on him. 

_Of. Fucking. Course._

  "If you see Bendy, grab him and come find me." Wally didn't get a chance to respond as Sammy had already run off. Distantly he could hear him running into Susie Campbell, and frantically explaining the situation to her.

  Looks like today was going to be... interesting.

 

  Sammy had found his way back up to the animation department, where Joey’s office was. The little demon liked hiding out in there when he knew he was in trouble, so if he was going to be anywhere... this was his best bet.

  "Bendy!? _Open this damn door._ " He yelled, banging his fist on the office door and tapping his foot impatiently. There was only a dead silence in return. Before he could try the handle, the door opened. Bendy, much to his dismay, wasn’t the one to answer. Instead, it was his boss, Joey Drew.

  "Oh. Hello Sammy." The music director looked about ready to strangle someone, and he was slightly worried it would be him. He hadn't even done anything yet. "Need... something?"

  " _Where. Is. Bendy._ " He growled through his teeth.

  "Why do you need to know?" Joey answered, the fearful curiosity obvious in his tone. He had a firm grip on the door handle, ready to slam it shut if Sammy jumped at him.

  "He _took_ my _cigarettes_ , Joey. I know he did, and _when I find him I am going to_ -"

  "Oh, don't make any rash decisions. I mean, do you really _know_ it was-"

  " _Who else would it be_!?" Sammy snapped with a step forward as Joey recoiled behind the door. "Do you know where the little bastard is or not?" 

  "I haven't seen him since early this morning, he didn't say what he was doing or where he was going. If- if it means anything, I’m sure someone would be kind enough to lend you cigarette or two."

  He rolled his eyes and stormed off. Nobody in the studio smoked the same brand he did, or... nobody he _knew_ did, anyway. He wasn’t about to go around asking, and he was incredibly picky about his cigarettes. Substitutes were not on the table. 

  Joey watched the music director as he left, and he was relieved to not have a metaphorical knife to his throat anymore. But... he was worried about what trouble his creation had gotten himself into. The studio was absolutely massive, and Bendy was _very_ good at hiding and sneaking around - Sammy could look all day and still not find him. And if he did, who knows what kind of a mood he'd be in at that point. Nobody had ever seen Sammy go without smoking for very long, and he was _incredibly_ dramatic. Things could go _very_ wrong, _very_ quickly. 

 

  It was quiet. Quiet and still and _really rather boring._ Bendy yawned. It had been a while and nothing interesting had happened yet. Maybe this prank wasn’t such a good idea after all. He’d been sneaking all over the studio after losing sight of the music director in hopes of catching him freaking out, but... no such luck. 

  How disappointing.

  Distantly he heard a rhythmic sound echo through the air, the sound of heels clicking on wood. Nervously he peeked over the side of the cabinet he was hiding on top of, thinking he might see a certain fallen angel that’s prone to raining on his prank parades... only to see Susie approaching him from down one of the studio’s many oddly-long hallways instead. 

  "Hiya Susie! You seen Sammy by any chance?" He suddenly revealed himself from the top of the cabinet where he’d been sitting half-melted for far too long. Now he was (mostly) in one piece again as he jumped down from his hiding place, a few stray drops of ink flicking onto the wall.

  "Oh you bet I have, and he's _pretty darn pissed_. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?" Her arms were crossed.

  "Me? Why would I have _any_ idea what he's throwing a fit over?" He leered up at her. "When have I _ever_ done anything to make him mad? I've certainly never taken anything from his desk to kickstart a little _fun..._ "

  "Oh, so it _was_ you then?” She asked. He shrugged and looked up at her with a mischievous smirk. “Bendy, you really shouldn't have taken those. Just tell me where you put them, and I'll keep him from kicking you into a wall, okay?"

  "Yeah, _fat chance of that_." A low voice hissed from the hallway. They were so busy talking they hadn't heard Sammy's frantic footsteps come up behind them. His fists were balled at his sides and he was _seething_. Susie took a step between him and the toon.

  "Susie, get out of my way."

  "Samuel James Lawrence you are _not_ going to hurt a _drop of ink on his head_ , do you hear me?"

  "...Your middle name is _James_?" Bendy snickered from behind his guardian.

  " _Quiet_ , you incessant little-"

  "Sammy!" Susie yelled sharply. He pinched the bridge of his nose, closed his eyes, and sighed. After a moment he put his hands on her shoulders and leaned in as he stared her dead in the face.

  "Susie, I’ve not had a cigarette _all morning._ I am losing my mind, my hands are already starting to shake." His voice was low and wavering slightly from anxiety. "I have music to write, the deadline is right around the damn corner, I am far too stressed as it is and I _do not_ have time for his _**bullshit** _ right now."

  She could feel his hands shaking on her shoulders, he wasn't kidding. Before she could offer a reply, they heard Bendy laughing again.

  "Jeez Sammy, are those stupid little sticks really so important to you that you can't work without 'em?? Never thought you to be so dependent on something!"

  Susie turned to quiet him, but that gave Sammy the opportunity to slip past her and lunge forward, grabbing the toon by his tail and lifting him into the air. 

  " _Where are they?!_ " He was yelling again.

  "Wow, not even gonna ask nicely? Or say please? Rude..." Bendy sneered.

  " _WHERE THE FUCK ARE THEY, BENDY!?_ "

  "Language, language! Maybe exchanging those stupid things for a bar of soap would do you better."

  "Tell me, or I will _drown you_."

  "Hah! As if Joey would let you do-" Their eyes met for the first time in their little exchange. Sammy was glaring at him with such a murderous intensity, the toon's doubt in his threat began to crumble. It was in this terrifying moment of realization that Susie found her voice again.

  "Sammy, put him _down_." Her voice was stern and her hands were loosely up in front of her, ready to either comfort him or to hold him back from doing something stupid. Bendy tore his eyes from Sammy's and glanced over to her, then back to him.

  "I'll tell ya if you put me down~"

  Sammy's angry glare narrowed, and he let go of Bendy's tail - letting him hit the floor with a _thud_ and a small splatter. He pushed some displaced ink back into place as he got back up, wobbling as he found his balance again.

  "I said _put me down_ , not _drop me_ ya dolt!” He quickly shook his head, trying to shake off the dizzy feeling. “I put your stuff in a closet somewhere, in a bucket under a towel."

   " _'I put them in a closet!'_ he says, as if there aren't dozens of those in this hellhole of a studio." He mocked, but stopped when Susie shot him an angry look. He took another breath, trying to calm down. "Which closet?"

   Bendy thought for a second. 

  Then a moment. 

  Then... a few moments, his expression gradually shifting from contemplation to subtle fear. 

  "I uh..." he began, still thinking of which closet exactly he'd stashed the things in. Sammy's arms were crossed, and he was rapidly drumming his fingers on his arm. One of his eyes was twitching. 

  "Well??" 

  "I...” He got quieter. “I don't remember." 

  " _What do you mean_ you don't remember?!" 

  Susie put her hand on his shoulder while looking down at a nervous Bendy. There was another moment of silence as the toon clearly strained himself trying to think.

 “I don’t remember!” He yelled back, ink slowly starting to drip from him.

  Susie felt Sammy start to lean forward as if he was about to attack, and she pulled him back with her strong grip on his shoulder. She put her other hand over his chest for security, glancing to him and then to Bendy.

  "You're right, there _are_ a lot of closets in the studio! A-and I've been between floors a lot already today, I don't... I don't remember where I put your stuff." His cocky attitude had melted away just as his form had clearly started to, and his voice cracked and he stammered as if he was about to cry. Susie felt bad for him, he clearly didn't mean any harm in what he did. He was a kid, he didn’t know better...

  Sammy, on the other hand, was not so moved. If anything, he was just more pissed off than he was before.

  "Hey, what's going on over here?" Wally joined the group. "Oh cool, you found Bendy. Why's Sammy yelling so much? You can hear him on the other end of the studio, it's crazy."

  He noticed Susie's concern, and Bendy dripping ink. _Guess who has to clean that up later..._

  "Bendy took Sammy's cigarettes this morning as a prank, and now they’re both freaking out. Bendy says he hid them in a closet and he doesn't remember which one, you haven't seen them have you?" Susie explained. Sammy had started biting his thumb, a nervous habit he thought he kicked until this situation proved otherwise.

  "Eh... can't say I have, sorry. Hey, why don't you go back with him to his office and keep him from losing his mind while we look for 'em?"

  Susie gave a determined nod as she and Sammy made their way back to his office. Bendy took a moment to compose himself after they were gone, and he followed Wally to start the search. Truth be told, Wally was just offering to help as an excuse to slack off.

  “I didn’t think Sammy would get so... _scary._ I just thought he’d get whiny and throw a fit, but...” Bendy trailed off, walking quietly beside the janitor.

  “Look-- how old are ya again? Like... eight months old by now? Well whatever, point is I kinda don’t blame you for all this. I mean, y’didn’t know. The short of it is, sometimes folks get real fidgety when they go without smokin’. I guess with the way he smokes and his general attitude, Sammy’s just... one of those guys that’ll absolutely _lose his mind_ instead. But don’t worry about it, we wont let him do nothin’ to ya. We’ll find his dumb cigarettes and everything’ll be just fine.”

  Bendy didn’t say anything.

 

  Back in Sammy's office, Susie was sitting by his side as he got more and more anxious. It had been an hour since the two of them had gotten back to his office, and it was amazing just how antsy he got just by not smoking for one morning. He would have been fine (albeit irritable) until he got home if he wasn't already under so much stress, but when he was stressed like this he'd smoke cigarette to cigarette. Not being able to manage his stress with his usual coping mechanism was making it all far, _far_ worse. His hands were still shaking, he couldn't stop bouncing his leg or biting his nails, and he was having a hard time focusing on the music sheets strewn about his desk. Instead, his mind was trying to think of something to distract himself from how hard and fast the fused monster of stress and withdrawal had hit him, and all the worst-case scenarios of what would happen if he didn’t make the deadline. It was especially unfortunate as it was Monday (that didn’t help either) and he needed the music done by Wednesday, and he had already been struggling with it.

 Of course, that wasn’t the end of it. Time for the real salt in the wound, something he hadn't noticed in his haste this morning but that he noticed when he got back: his whiskey was gone as well. The last thing that could have maybe helped the situation, also gone. All this just pissed him off further. Everything that could go wrong _was_ going wrong. The fact that Bendy decided to pull this little stunt _now_ of all times...

  "The little bastard's lucky he doesn't have a neck, or I'd fucking strangle him for this." He mumbled, turning to Susie.

  "Oh you'd do no such thing." She gave him a playful slap on the arm.

  _"I would_. I need to get this music done, but I _can’t. Focus_. All I can do is sit here, thinking about how much time we're wasting, and wasting time is making me feel worse, and I can't focus enough on anything to calm down, so all I can do is sit up in my own head in this infinite loop of _I'm Fucked._ "

  She put her hand on his back and her head on his shoulder. There was a radio she turned on earlier in hopes the music would calm him down some, but it hadn't seemed to help. She flicked it off and tried humming to him instead. He hesitantly leaned his head on hers, so... it must have been a slight improvement over the radio. Unfortunately her free-time on this Monday wasn’t unlimited, and she’d be returning to the recording booth soon enough. She hadn’t even left yet, and already she was worried about what he’d do while she was gone.

 

  Meanwhile, Bendy and Wally were running all over the studio trying to find the stolen goods. They had gone through the whole place once, twice, three times - the third time is the point where they ran into each other, and exchanged confusion as to why they couldn't find the stash. It was almost noon, they didn't want to _think_ about what hell might have been happening in the music department right now. Susie had responsibilities, she couldn't stay with him the entire time and he wasn't exactly known for being good at managing his own meltdowns. They especially didn't want to return to said hell, but someone had to deliver the bad news. 

  "You do it!" Bendy insisted. "He wouldn't touch you, he'd _splatter_ me."

  "No way in hell, you're the one that started this mess to begin with! I know you didn't mean for shit to hit the fan the way it did, but you gotta own up to it."

  "Really Wally? You're gonna just let me walk to my doom like that? You said everything would be fine!"

  "Hey, I was under the impression we’d find that crap. Besides, getting kicked through the wall wont kill you - "

  "That doesn't mean its FUN! ...Well, maybe it's a little fun. But that's beside the point!"

  Wally rolled his eyes with a huff. They kept walking through the studio to the music department, and the entire time Bendy was waiting for the janitor to break and say he'd talk to Sammy. No such luck, they were standing at his door now and he hadn't said anything. Sammy had recently installed a curtain over the window in his office so he could be more alone while he wrote, and as such they couldn't see what he was doing or if he was even in his office. They felt that if he wasn't, they would hear him yelling at someone in the recording studio. It was quiet though, so they assumed him to be in there.

  Bendy looked up at Wally, who waved his hand in front of him as if to say _go on, knock on the door_. The toon glared at him for another second before facing the door again, and... he knocked. 

  They heard the muffled sound of a chair flying back wildly and a hushed swear as someone ran to the door. It flung open, and a frantic Sammy almost immediately realized they were both empty handed. His hopeful, wide-eyed expression quickly dropped back to a scowl.

  "...You didn't find them, did you?"

  Bendy and Wally exchanged side glances at each other. Before the toon could give the response he had been dreading, he was cut off.

_"Of course you fucking didn't, just my fucking luck..."_

  "I'm... gonna go grab Susie." Wally said, running down the hallway. Bendy wanted to stop him, he did _not_ want to be left alone with Sammy while he was in such a bad mood, but he was already gone. _Thanks Wally, you jerk._ He started backing up into the wall as Sammy advanced, looking more and more pissed off by the second. He was ranting about something but he was too afraid to pay attention.

  Susie was in the recording studio, in the middle of reading her lines. Wally felt bad for interrupting their session but he didn’t have time to explain what was going on as he grabbed her by the arm and led her down to his office. She didn't need to be told what was wrong, she heard it as soon as the door to the recording studio opened. Sammy was yelling at Bendy, complete with threats, and while Bendy usually didn't take his threats seriously he was being even scarier than he was earlier... it’s not like anyone was around to save him if he tried something - 

  "Sammy you're scaring him half to death, calm down." She again stepped between the enraged music director and the terrified toon _,_ and Wally was nearby. He felt safer now that he knew he hadn’t been ditched. 

  "Calm down? It's been _four hours!_ I haven't gotten a god damn thing done all morning, and I have every right to be pissed off over it!"

  "Sammy-"

  "The shit he pulls is usually a mild annoyance, but this? This is going _way too far_ , and I give up."

  He ran down back down the hallway. Susie and Wally both shouted after him, but he didn't stop. He was too fast to keep up with as well, they only found him again when they heard him yelling near one of the studio exits. When they finally caught back up they saw he was yelling at Joey, who had coincidentally run into him. Turns out Sammy intended to take his break a little earlier than usual to leave the studio to buy more cigarettes instead of waiting for the old ones to turn up, and Joey was fine with that but Sammy really likes yelling at people. All Joey asked was ' _where are you going?_ ' after seeing him with his coat on, and Sammy lost it. Again.

  Wally, Susie, and Bendy all looked on, not really knowing what to do. Then Alice showed up, hands behind her back.

  "What did Bendy do this time?" she asked with an unimpressed sigh.

  "Took and hid Sammy's smokes, then forgot where they were. We both ran all over the studio lookin' for them, _three times_ we checked the entire place through, but I guess someone else up and nicked ‘em because we sure as hell didn't find anything." Wally explained. 

  "Thanks for assuming it was me, Al." Bendy said quietly, hoping she wouldn’t hear him over the yelling. 

  "Oh, I didn't assume anything." She placed the bucket on a nearby desk. The handle hit the side of the pail with a loud metal CLANK that sent the whole room into utter silence. Everyone stared at it for a moment as Alice crossed her arms, glaring at the mischievous toon who she'd been onto since the moment he grabbed Wally's keys.

 "Where did you-" The imp stuttered.

  "I knew what a bad idea this was from the start, and I knew if I told you so you wouldn't listen to me. I thought letting you learn that for yourself would be better. Given your terrified expression, I think you've more than learned your lesson." Alice was smiling slightly, her job had been done. Sammy was already fumbling with his lighter and a cigarette, and after lighting it and taking a particularly long drag he was feeling better. He blew smoke into the air and he felt the anxiety just _melt off_ , it would take another few minutes for it to be entirely gone but dear god this was an improvement. 

  "...Sammy, is that alcohol?" Joey questioned as he walked over, eyeing the bottle. "I told you not to keep this stuff in your desk, why do you still have it?"

  "For bullshit like this." He uncapped it and took a shot straight from the bottle.

  "Sammy, _get rid of it_."

  "Yeah yeah, whatever." He was back to his cigarette.

  "I mean it, if you don't-"

  "Do you want me to take another shot? Actually, don't answer, I'm doing it to spite you." And back to the bottle. Joey shook his head and walked back to his office. He didn't even remember what he had left it to do. Bendy followed, he’d had enough for the day already.

  Incidents like these are why Joey Drew Studios does not enforce its _no smoking_ policy.

**Author's Note:**

> Don't forget to leave kudos ,and a comment if you'd like! They encourage me to keep writing :)


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